


Shifting Balances

by Mariabella Baggins (AgentFrostbite)



Series: The Dragon Riders of Middle Earth [5]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Author still does not know how to properly tag, Bella's in a tight spot again, Female Bilbo Baggins, Gen, How Not To Train Your Fire-Drake, More conversing than action, Thror may have the wrong idea about dragons, Thror went a little crazy, clandestine meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-26 15:49:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19008919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentFrostbite/pseuds/Mariabella%20Baggins
Summary: The pieces are moving into place. All three sides of the situation have a lot to gain, and much more to lose. Someone is pulling the strings, and they're getting uncomfortably close to the chess pieces, who have not yet begun to realize the depth of the betrayal that is slowly poisoning two kingdoms at once.





	Shifting Balances

**Author's Note:**

> I'M LATE AGAIN
> 
> Good gracious, it's like you miss a week and suddenly, you can't get anything in on time. Ugh. Anyways, I'm not entirely happy with this one, cause it was supposed to be longer. I was supposed to do clever maneuvering between Thror and Bella, and maybe some more references to who all is doing this, but for the sake of MAKING MY DEADLINE, I'm taking it as is and shifting my plan a little bit to give me some more time.
> 
> To make up for the lack of...interestingness in this chapter, I will do some low-level explaining! So, the Fae are sort-of canon. They're canon in the way that they're listed on the One Ring wiki, but I took some liberties with certain aspects of this, like where they come from and what they can do, because TECHNICALLY they aren't exactly confirmed canon (I think, idk how that all works), plus FANFICTION, so there. I also read (found?) this interesting thing somewhere (I can't remember where, so if it's your idea, do claim it!) that the First Took may have married a fairy, which is why they're Not Like Other Hobbits. I decided to take it a step further, like I always do, and created this beautiful, intricate species around it that I'll never be able to use anywhere else because The Hobbit obviously doens't belong to me. Bella was the one who found Farasail (will go more in depth at a later date) and that's why she, and not Gerontius, is Queen.
> 
> And that's what I can give you without compromising ideas/plot points/etc. I do hope you enjoy!

  Descending the stairs was far easier, Bella found, without an abundance of long, trailing skirts. She embraced the Faish Captain of the Guard, who returned the gesture. "It's been quite a while," she said.

  "Too long," Hayla agreed. "I heard you are pursuing an alliance with the Dwarves of Erebor."

  "Yes. The Committee agreed that the extra protection and the implied threat of backup might help ward away the Orcs and trappers. Erebor does happen to be a fairly heavy hitter," Bella answered as they walked down one of the great, long hallways. Where they were walking didn't matter as much as the conversation itself. "Negotiations have been…interesting."

  "The Dwarves are obstinate, but they need this alliance as much as you do," Hayla responded with a thoughtful nod. "They may play hard, but they'll not put it in jeopardy."

  "Actually, the Dwarves have been…" Bella stopped as she searched for the right word, and Hayla stopped a couple steps ahead of her. "I suppose patient isn't the right word. Tolerant."

  "Of the dragons?"

  "Of whoever's been sabotaging this thing. They're using dragons to unsettle the Dwarves, and though we don't know why, we may have an idea of who." They resumed their walk. "I think it's a Fae."

  "A Fae?" Now it was Hayla's turn to stop short. "What kind?"

  "I'm not sure," Bella answered. "To be honest, I'm not even sure it _is_ a Fae; that's just the only explanation that makes any sense."

  "How so?" They resumed their destination-less walk.

  "The dragons used are from a variety of different species. Most of them were tamed dragons, people's pets and friends, kept in locked houses and unlikely to listen to just anyone. There are only five Master Tamers in the Shire, and if it were someone who was overly noticeably an outsider, the dragons would've kicked up quite a fuss. Fae have natural connections with all dragons, which helps them tame dragons, and a Fae from around the area would've known a good bit about who had what dragons and where those houses were. What I can't understand is the motivation behind it, and thus, who might be doing it."

  They then proceeded in silence as Hayla mulled over the information. "Were any of the attacks dangerous? Lethal, I mean," Hayla inquired as they passed the large entrance to the garden. Bella opened her mouth to answer, but faltered when she thought she saw a pair of glowing red eyes gazing at the pair from out of the darkness. She slowed to a stop and stared at the orbs for a long moment. Hayla looked out to where she was looking, and apparently saw nothing, for she looked back to the Hobbit. "Bella?"

  Even Twilight couldn't seem to see it, as she bounded a couple bouncy steps outside and down to the edge of the green path. When Bella returned her gaze from watching the Fury, the eyes – orbs, whatever they were – were gone. She simply blinked a couple times.

  "Nothing. I just… Must be tired, is all." She shook her head and turned to Hayla. Lucky continued to watch the spot. Clearly he wasn't convinced.

  There might've been something there after all.

  "Twilight." Bella whistled, and the dragon bounded back over, nudging both Hayla and Bella. The women laughed and resumed their walk. "Right. Erm…"

  "Were the attacks lethal?" Hayla reminded.

  "Oh, right! No. Well, I mean, if they _were_ , whoever is trying to kill them is doing a poor job of it. I mean, why use dragons to kill Dwarves when dragon tamers – _Master Tamers_ – are right there to stop it? Yes, they would've been bloody and ugly had it just been Dwarves and dragons, but there were always tamers around… _I_ was almost always around, to smooth things over and bring everyone back under control. I can't believe that if someone was trying to kill them, they'd leave unaddressed such an important detail as that."

  "I agree," Hayla replied. " _Unless_ they're new to it. You are working off the assumption that whoever is doing this is as expert a, for lack of a better term, killer as you. They may be young, inexperienced, nervous. In addition, if it really is a Fae – and I do agree that it most likely is – to lift a finger against you or your family is treason, and if they're caught, it would cost them their ear tips and wings, if not their neck." Bella frowned. "I will concede that it's a rather strange course of action to take against Dwarves, if you wanted to kill them."

  "Then you know-"

  "Of the Nadder and the Smokebreaths, yes. Such news spreads quickly." Lucky, still perched on Bella's shoulder, chittered vainly. Hayla's grin turned rather coy. "You've developed quite the name for yourself. Dragon Master and Death-Charmer, they call you." Bella groaned. "You're famous."

  "Yeah, famous, and then what? I mean, when you get a reputation, people expect things of you. They want to know what you're doing, how you do it; they're bugging and nagging and ugh. Which brings me to my next chief problem: Why does Thror want me here?"

  "He what?" Hayla stopped short. She took Bella's arm and turned the Hobbit to face her. "He wants _you_? You, specifically?"

  "He calls me the dragon-charmer, like most do. I don't know _why_ he needs or wants a dragon-charmer, only that he was rather intent on meeting me, and actually spoke to me when we first met," Bella answered. "He doesn't know what I am, I can promise you that."

  "I…have heard rumors. Rumors of a fire-drake in the North, stirring from a long slumber," Hayla informed slowly. Bella's blood ran cold. "I think he may want you so you can ward it off, should it come after his increasingly large wealth."

  "Then may all the Valar have mercy on us, because fire-drakes are not tamable, and I certainly cannot tell him that."

* * *

 

  "What do you mean, she's not there?!" Thror thundered. Frerin, to his credit, did not flinch. He only faced his grandfather with a stony look. "Where could she be?!"

  "She's likely out for a flight, or visiting with the other Hobbits," Frerin answered. Beside him, Thorin watched the interaction carefully. Thror had definitely gotten worse in the eldest grandson's absence, and his unhinged attitude overtook him more often and more dramatically. "I didn't wish to bother her if she was with the others."

  "But you didn't check?"

  "It would've been improper and a breach of their social code," Thorin cut in when Frerin didn't have an immediate answer. "They have already extended courtesies to us by travelling so far from home; it is best not to test their goodwill."

  "You seem to have more issues with standing by your own people than you do protecting foreigners," Thror stated venomously. "Has she charmed you as well? You seem to be under some kind of spell, to so stand in such vehement opposition of me."

  Though Thorin had several things he wanted to say to that, wisdom advised caution, and foresight bred patience. There was no reasoning with Thror when he was in one of his moods, and it was useless to even try. But there was a certain gleam in Thror's eyes, one that spoke of thrill at the idea that Bella might be able to 'charm' people as well. It frightened him, to be honest. "I am not in opposition to you, Grandfather." _I am in opposition to what you have become!_ "I am merely being cautious. Hobbits do not trust outsiders, just as we don't trust outsiders, and the alliance is fragile. To have worked so hard, to put in so much effort, and have it be for nothing would not do well."

  "People would whisper," Frerin added, stepping up, "that you have lost your negotiating touch. The Elvenking is ever watchful of ways to overthrow our alliance with them, and anything could be perceived as an excuse." Frerin was becoming quite the wordsmith. Thror was swayed, for the moment, and he sat down on his throne once more.

  "Very well. I wish to speak with her at her earliest convenience, and I expect the two of you to pass this information on in whatever manner you see fit," Thror ordered with a lazy wave of his hand. "We are glad you are home safe, Thorin."

  The statement wasn't as warming as it ought to have been.

  After the meeting, Thorin and Frerin returned to the Royal Wing, with another round of relief at his return. "I don't know how you do it," Frerin remarked. There was no mirth in his tone. _It_ was not clarified, because it did not need to be.

  "I love him enough to believe that he will return to himself," Thorin answered. He sounded far certain than he was. Thror was slipping further and further into madness, and only once since his return had Thorin seen even a piece of the man his grandfather used to be.

  "He was almost…possessive of the Hobbit. Like he is over that stone," Frerin observed. "Why?"

  "I don't know. I intend to find out." And Thorin meant it.

* * *

 

  "It's a great game of chess, is what's going on here," the Mayor, Bill Whitfoot remarked. The Hobbits were all meeting in Bella's quarters, that next morning, discussing what was to be done about the alliance and Thror and Bella herself. "Everyone's got their own motives, and everyone's moving their pieces into position."

  "Then what is our move?" the North Farthing representative, Odo Underlake, asked as he wrung his hands. His dragon, a Gronckle whose name Gerontius was a tad bit embarrassed to admit he'd forgotten, grumbled nervously. All the dragons were on edge. It was just that place that set them that way.

  "We shall be polite and courteous and play our cards very close to our chest," replied the East Farthing representative. Razo Lightfoot was just a couple steps away from being the 6th Master Tamer, and his dragon, an Egg Biter, punctuated his statement with an intelligent sounding snarl. Raulk always did think himself the second smartest dragon in the room. Behind Thorn, of course, because no dragon considered itself smarter than the Alpha.

  Thorn, by the way, was sitting in the corner by the door, watching it eagerly, as if he were waiting for someone. Gerontius knew, but no-one else did, and Bella kept sneaking him glances. She knew that he knew, and it bugged her. "Agreed," Gerontius said as he puffed on his pipe. He then took it out of his mouth and pointed it at Bella. "But I do not want you in any room alone with Thror." She nodded slowly.

  There was a knock at the door. All eyes turned to it, and Whitfoot's Nadder jumped. "Come in!" Bella called, pursing her lips slightly as the door opened. She was nervous. Gerontius hated seeing her nervous.

  The visitor was Thorin, alone, and he hesitated when he saw the group. "I apologize for intruding-"

  "You weren't," Bella answered too quickly. Gerontius returned his pipe to his mouth and simply watched the pair. Oh, he had it all figured out, though he'd not yet sorted out _his_ feelings on the whole thing. He was unsure if _they_ knew yet. "Interrupting. Or intruding. Um…" She cleared her throat and composed herself. "Was there something you needed?"

  "Thror wishes to speak with you, when you are able to." Thorin was rather reluctant to say it. Bella went dead stiff and moved very slowly when she nodded and walked over to Twilight. "I would…" The price struggled for the right words, especially when faced with six other Hobbits and their jumpy dragons. "Advise you bring Twilight."

  "And Lucky?" Bella asked. Thorin thought it over for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

  "Too provoking." She nodded again, much more crisply this time, and Gerontius nodded her on when she looked uncertainly back at him. Thorin, Bella, and Twilight all left, and the door shut quietly behind them. He sighed shortly. Bella was a smart girl. She could handle herself, and Twilight could protect them both.

  Why did that not put him at ease?


End file.
